Deguchi, Onisaburo. Reikai Monogatari (The Story of the Spirit World) Vol. 40 Chapter 12
Reflection of the Mind
Gusty autumn winds blow in a valley of the Tamayama Pass.
On their way to attack Fort Iso, Leader of Brahminism[1],
General Lunch is there with his subordinate Kul.
Lehb, Renowned for serving the Onikumawake family, is there with his men too
Fighting is between them and the army of the general
The consequence is all of them falling deep into the valley and getting in coma
Starting is their trip to the life after death
Whilst they rest beside a rock in a wilderness,
Two demons whose skin colors are red and black respectively capture eight of Kul's subordinates
With their captives, the demons head towards a stream, crossing a field filled with dried grasses
Meantime, a blue-skinned demon guides Lehb and Kul to a pier of the Sanzu River[2]
Reaching the pier, Lehb and Kul see a huge river of which other side can not be seen
An abundant amount of clear water flows as a snake crawls, having bubbles on the surface
A jewel-decorated mansion is there beside the river to take their breath away
The demon opens a gate of the mansion to reports to supposedly the owner of the mansion
He reports out loud that he have finally brought the two men here
And asking the owner to welcome them
After a while, the demon makes an informal bow and disappears
Two of them stand beside the river and talk to each other
Wondering if there is such a beautiful mansion beside the Sanzu River
At the very moment, a pure lady's voice ringing like a tone chime calls them to come in
They wonder if the owner of the voice is Onibaba[3]
The suspicion is soon cleared when they get closer
To their surprise, her age seems to be sixteen to eighteen
A celestial beauty whom even flowers envy is smiling at them
They enter one room of the mansion after chatting a while with the young lady
The room in the back looks as if it were in the outside
A grass-filled field is there, and the Sanzu River sounds just the same as before
The illusion is created by the mansion made by crystal
Invited in the mirror-shiny crystal mansion, they lost their way to the exit.
They are exhausted, complaint to each other, and ask the lady for help.
The lady takes their hands, brings them to the front of a humble cabin, and says
The mansion you entered in while ago is a model of houses both in heaven and on earth
This humble hut is a checkpoint where Onibaba resides forever and ever
And where people who have committed serious crimes on earth
Get their skin stripped before their long journey
As soon as the lady says, she turns to an ugly old lady
She stretches her thin and withered hands to reach them out on the neck
Frightened by how nasty she grabs their neck, they jump into the Sanzu River in desperation
They swim frantically towards the other side of the river
And finally, they have reached to the other side
They have got a feeling of accomplishment since, against their expectation, they easily swam across the seemingly-boundless river with their clothes on. Feeling great, they are looking at the ripples on the river for a little while.
Lehb: I feel kind of weird. You know, when Onibaba grabbed us by neck, we jumped into the river in desperation. But I thought we couldn’t make it when we were halfway through. However, in spite of the rapid and violent stream, we swam across straight ahead so easily and quickly as if an arrow goes through.
Kul: That’s the difference between heaven and earth. Hey, look! The river disappeared and there are flower gardens over there. It’s like a carpet of flowers. Hundreds of flowers and flowers and there is no river anymore. Ahhh…I can smell the sweet and pleasant fragrance. It seems like we are in the Garden of Eden.
Lehb: That’s right! And that makes me wonder even more. There are white plum blossoms here and there on the tree branches. Roses, peony flowers, lotus flowers, and other various kinds of flowers fill the field. Sure, this spectacle belongs to heaven not to earth. Once I am here, I never want to go back to earth where I have built my life on lies. You know, Kul, you and I have been fighting for so-called faithfulness or loyalty to the master to just satisfy our ego and vanity. Although we have no grudge against each other, we have tried to kill each other like a hound dog provoked by the master. And eventually, we fell into a valley at Tamayama Pass, and there, our journey to heaven has started from. But come to think about life on earth and one in heaven, I say no people are more pitiful than those who live on earth.
Kul: Yeah. But thanks to our competition in practicing hypocrisy on earth, we are now in heaven. One can not predict the future and good may come out of a misfortune. Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend. All the bad things are gone and only the heavenly fragrance of the flowers remains. Now that we are in heaven, we have no need to fight each other or to pursuit wealth and social status. We can just stay in this vast flower garden, eat the fruit that we enjoy, forget about all worldly kinship, and just enjoy this journey. Nothing is more enjoyable than this. But wait! There is a saying that says good karma brings good results and bad karma brings bad results, if so, one must perform many good deeds on earth to arrive here. Looking back on what we have done on earth, there is no reason for us to be here. Maybe God mistook us for somebody else! If this is the case, we will be doomed! We might be dropped from this beautiful and delightful heaven to ugly and gruesome hell at any moment. Although it is said “leave your obsession”, who would not want to be in heaven! Oh! kan-nagara tama chihaemase[4]. Dear Lord, please let us keep staying here even if this is a dream…
They put their hands together to pray wholeheartedly. When they came back to reality, the ground they were standing had lifted up more or less 40 meters (130 feet), and had become as if a hill. There were wide streets beside the hill, and various kinds of animals and people were all around.
Lehb: The scene has changed again. Hey Kul, we’d better keep our guard up….something bad might happen.
Soon after, they heard a scream coming from 200 or 300 meters (650-980 feet) farther along. It sounded like a kind of ape was being killed. As they thought there might be someone being abused by demons, they started running toward the direction where the screams coming from to save any possible victims. When they got closer, they saw a man in white holding a bloodstained sword in his right hand and in his left he was grabbing a 4 or 5 years old boy by the neck. His face was pale and round, and he was about to stab the boy in the chest. They frantically jumped on top of him and tried to take away the sword, but no matter how much they push, they could not move him, and he then stabbed the boy to death.
Lehb: You demon! Where the hell do you think this is? You never be allowed committing a murder here in heaven.
Man: Ha ha ha! That’s ridiculous. How dare you call someone a demon when, you, yourself is a demon? Now, it’s your turn. Don’t move there. Hehehe…How poor you charlatans are. Now, I, Tenrai Bodhisattva, gonna punish you for all the bad karma you have accumulated on earth. You should be pleased to be slain by my sword.
Lehb: Ha! What do you mean by Tenrai Bodhisattva? A bodhisattva never carries a weapon. Besides, you have just murdered an innocent kid. That’s outrageous. So you demon, or Tenrai, listen, we are Lehb and Kul from Brahminism. We are renowned for our braveness and expertise in martial arts. Even millions of you wimps are not worth us. Now, we gonna take your sword and chop you to pieces. Say your prayers!
Man: Hehehe…you twerp. I just did my task and punished the kid under heaven’s law. You know, as you always said on earth that “God comes out in front of us and divides the good and the bad”, who else can judge one is good or bad except God? That’s definitely none of your business. So you humans should just shut your mouth up and go to where you belong. Your cheesy compassion and bravado just don’t work in this crystal-clear heaven.
Lehb: Even if the boy has committed some serious crime, he should be forgiven. This is heaven. If anything was said improperly or if anything was done improperly, let it be taken favorably or let him give a chance to do it right. That’s what grace of God is supposed to mean. You said it’s your duty but there is no rationale in heaven to slay humans who come from God.
Man: He he he…well said, well said. If you say so, why don’t you forgive me for what I have done? You boast of your braveness back on earth, you call me a demon, you are going to steal my sword to just add a crime on your record, and now, you are going to chop me to pieces. What a contradiction! And what a scary and self-centered man you are!
Kul: Hey, demon, you belong to the darkness not heaven. So get over here. If you stay here any longer, there might be a dispute arisen between heaven and hell, and eventually, heaven might declare war against hell.
Man: Hehehe…you never done anything good back on earth. Not even one thing. But you happened to get into heaven. And now, you pretend to be a good man all of sudden and preach me heaven. But guess what? I and this bloodstained sword are all reflections of your mind. You are a petty villain who have been a sub sub subordinate of Oniharuwake who serves for Ohkuronushi whose body is possessed by Yamatano Orochi[5]. You have exploited people who are just like 3 years old kids. You have boasted of your bravado and engaged in fights in the battlefield. Now, all of those acts manifest here. Therefore, I am a demon you created. If you reform yourself, there is no chance for demon like me to appear in this blissful heaven. So if you really want to annihilate me, reform yourself first. You heard a tenet of Ananai[6] from Ougon-hime in Tamayama Pass while ago, didn’t you? It’s quoted that if you find someone bad, it is a reflection of yourself.
Lehb: So you are a sort of my sub guardian spirit[7]. What a bad assistant I have inside of me!
Man: Ha ha. That’s not true. I am part of your legitimate guardian spirit7 not sub guardian spirit. If you don’t reform yourself, there may be an occasion that your self-made demon appears to attack you. It’s just like cutting your own throat. So you’d better reform yourself soon. You too, Kul. This boy is also reflection of your mind.
Lehb: Ahhh…now I see. Although we hang around together and get friendly, that’s just because I feel lonely to be here alone. To tell you the truth, I have been thinking deep in my mind that a villain like you don’t deserve this heaven and I will kick you out from here to drop into hell at some point. I am really sorry for you. Will you forgive me for thinking that way, Kul?
Kul: To tell you the truth, although we seem to be open up to each other, I didn’t really believe in you. I was thinking maybe you would attack me and tried to kill me at sometime. So I think the boy was reflection of my innermost fear. But now, since you have reformed yourself, I have no need to be scared. We can enjoy this journey with all our heart and soul. Oh…kan-nagara tama chihaemase.
They prayed with their eyes closed. When they opened their eyes, there was no man or boy standing beside of them. The bloodshed they saw on the ground was actually a red flower. Butterflies of which colors are white, yellow, purple, and blue were hovering over flowers. They both opened their eyes to the truth. They started walking towards north holding their hands and chanting Amatsu norito[8].
(Recorded by Masazumi Matsumura on Nov. 3, 1922)
[1]. “Brahminism” is a fictional religion in The Story of the Spirit World. It is irrelevant to Brahminism which actually existed in ancient India. The story rather depicts Braminism as villain.
[2]. According to Juou Sutra(十王経), a Chinese apocryphal Buddhism text, the Sanzu River divides life and death. Anyone who is dead crosses this river to reach life after death.
[3]. Onibaba is an ugly old lady who is believed to live beside the Sanzu River and take clothes off from people. Also called Datsueba. Onibaba is well known character in Japanese folklore. Onibaba also originates from Juou Sutra.
[4]. A word typically used to close prayers or hymns in Omoto/Aizen-en tradition. It literally means “May God lead us at his will” or “May God bless our soul at his will”.
[5]. In general, Yamatano Orochi refers to an eight-headed monstrous snake in Japanese mythology. However, in the story, it sometimes refers to a symbol of evil and autocratic power.
[6]. Ananai is also a fictional religion in the story yet modeled on Omoto of that time. The main focal of the story is about adventures of Ananai missionaries.
[7]. According to Omoto tenets, there are 3 guardian spirits who protect us. A legitimate guardian spirit, fair guardian spirit, and sub guardian spirit. The legitimate and fair guardian spirits come from heaven while sub guardian spirit comes from hell. Sub guardian spirit is actually an evil spirit yet necessary to maintain our physical bodies since it instigates our desires for survival (aka instinct).
[8]. Amatu norito is a Shintoism hymn which is believed to get rid of our sins and cleanse our soul. It is also believed to conquer evil power.